


Something More Than Hate

by Somebodys_No_One



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, Dave Strider is an ass, M/M, Other, Quadrant Fuck, War! Verse, Windy Shades of Gray, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-31
Updated: 2014-11-12
Packaged: 2018-01-27 20:28:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1721579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somebodys_No_One/pseuds/Somebodys_No_One
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thirteen years ago, Dave Strider witnessed his Bro's death at the hands of a troll. He hasn't forgiven, now Dave's best friend John has decided to bring a starving, scrawny, runty foul mouthed Troll home with him, ignoring the zoning laws. Yeah, it's already a horrible idea and that is before John decides to fucking fall in love, with a Troll. </p><p>It's just hate, hate that fuels what Dave does to the Troll in question who has a fucking stupid, shitty name, Vantas, if anyone was wondering; but is it, because Dave finds he can't hate, not when the crabby Troll has the annoying habit of clinging after sex. </p><p>Then the police get involved, just in time for Dave to realize, there's something more than hate</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Thirteen Years Ago Today_

_The air was stiff and hot, a dry uncomfortable silence, Dave didn’t like it. Even though he was only six, he understood, somewhere in his mind that something was wrong. There was no sound in the small room besides the soft scratching sounds of his brother’s sword._

_Bro was sitting on the other side of the room, head down, sharping his sword, his mouth was moving slightly and he seemed to be deep in thought. He looked up after a moment, eyes meeting Dave’s from behind the pointy shades he wore._

_Dave smiled slightly, scrambling to his feet, with a soft undignified squeak that made Bro’s mouth twitch into a small smile. Dave couldn’t help smiling too, and hurried across the room to pull Bro away from his work._

_”Please Bro!” Dave pleaded, he smiled, hoping to win his brother over, no one could resist his puppy dog eyes, Mr. Egbert, John’s father- had told him that once. “Please, please, please, Bro, please play with me, I’m bored.”_

_Darn, it didn’t work, Bro looked sad and worried now instead. “No, Dave, I can’t play with you. I’m busy. . .” he seemed deep in thought, “maybe later.”_

_"Busy with what?” Dave tilted his head, a smile tugging at his lips, he wanted to understand, but was a little confused. His brother was never busy. “Bro,” he tugged on his brother’s arm, impatient._

_Bro shook his head, looking very sad. “It’s just a misunderstanding, Dave, it’ll be over soon. Everything will be okay.”_

_Dave nodded. “Okay, so can John come over, we could play. And I promise we won’t touch the smuppets.” He looked at his brother, hopeful, if he couldn’t play with him, John could, right?_

_Bro opened his mouth, to answer, but was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. Bro glanced up, staring at the door, his mouth curled down into an angry expression that Dave didn’t like. It scared him, and he had only seen it once in his life, when he had accidently ripped one of his brother’s creations up in a fight. Dave hadn’t dared to do anything like that ever again._

_Dave pulled on his brother’s sleeve, frightened, though he would never admit that; being scared was not something coolkids did. “Bro?” His voice wavered and he felt his bottom lip tremble._

_Bro picked Dave up in one quick hurried motion and carried him to the kitchen, bending down and opening the cupboard. He set Dave down under the sink, forcing a tight smile. “Stay here, Dave, okay? We’ll play hide n seek._

_Dave frowned, he didn’t like this, but he didn’t protest, biting his lower lip and nodding. “Okay, Bro, whatever you say.”_

_Bro smiled slightly, face relaxing for a second, as if comforted. He bent, letting his shades slide down his nose. “Promise me, Dave, no matter what happens, don’t make any sound, any noises. It’s too dangerous. You’ll understand one day, Dave. And remember, I love you, no matter what.” He smiled slightly, ruffling his hair before he stood, disappearing and shutting the cupboard doors, leaving a small crack for air._

_Dave heard his brother’s footsteps recede, the door creaked as Bro opened it, there were muffled shouting, his brother’s loud commanding voice, it was paired with a low growling voice that was unfriendly. A sudden shout, the swinging of swards, clanging of metal and several pained grunts. Banging followed and there was a crash, somewhere close by. Dave cringed, frowning a little as the grunts and smashing of kitchen objects continued._

_The sound that followed would haunt Dave for the rest of his life. He could never explain it clearly or forget it. The sound was harsh, deep, and guttural in a way. It was a sliding squish, followed up by a dull thud and panting breath. There were a few thumps and fading groans, accompanied with a threatening, “We will win, Strider.”_

_Dave leaned forward to look, he expected to see his brother, standing over whoever had dared to bother his Bro. But he was met with the black, broken shards of Bro’s avatars, pale skin that was covered with red; a sharp bright red. Dave’s mouth fell open and tears streamed down his face. He bit his lower lip hard, bringing a hand up to his mouth to stifle his growing sobs. Footsteps came close to where he was hiding and Dave drew back, frightened. He was met with a pair of bright eyes set on dusty gray skin and a fanged smile. The Troll straightened; he didn’t seem to see him, walking a few feet away, pulling Bro’s shades off. The Troll let out a soft growl, cape swishing behind him as he closed the door._

_Dave shook with rage, pushing the doors of the cabinet aside, crawling across the floor to lie next to Bro. He curled up into the bleeding mess, sniffling. One hand found Bro’s cooling hand, gripping it tight. He swept the debris off of Bro’s body, throwing an arm around him loosely._

Today, yes, today

 

Karkat Vantas was cold, and wet. He sat under the overhang of an old brick building shivering. Karkat pulled the blanket- if it could be called that- tighter around his shoulders and he pulled his knees to his chest. He let his eyes close tiredly and focused on the sounds that swirled around him.

Footsteps were loud and echoing on the paved sideway, only a few yards away. The voices were soft and muted, some of them were scornful and rude, others sympathetic, but they were all directed at him. He could feel their eyes burn into the back of his head.

He scowled, stretching out sore legs as he thought. It wasn’t his fucking fault that they had lost, what was he supposed to do to help the war effort anyway? He had been hardly five years old, by the way the humans kept track of time.

But that didn’t matter to the humans, with their narrow minded thinkpans, they wanted revenge. So they took it out on them, it was easy enough, the Trolls had been the losers of the war. None of the humans had been happy with the Trolls’ actions. It had been easy enough to lay down unfair laws and reassure the public that there would never be another uprising.

Thirteen wonderful years later, the laws were still in place and Karkat sat shivering in the cold rain. It was some time before winter, Karkat understood that much, he could feel the chill that breached his clothing and burrowed its way into the marrow of his bones. Long story short, it was cold, freezing actually and he hated it.

Karkat heard laughter, giggly and high, it stopped, and broke off with a sharp gasp, the voice that followed was cheerful. The sound of feet dragging across pavement met Karkat’s ears and he curled up into a protective ball, placing his hands over his neck.

But the blows never came.

Instead a hand tapped him gently on the shoulder, there was a wet splashing sound and the person bent down to look at him, his shoulder was tapped again and Karkat peered up with a slight scowl. He realized, after a moment that the rain no longer fell on his head and he spoke, “What the fuck do you want?”

The man shifted, he seemed uncomfortable. He bit his lower lip, blue eyes darting around, catching the eyes of someone who stood behind him; just out of Karkat’s line of vision. His glasses were wet with rain and he took a moment, pushing them back onto his nose. He tilted his head slightly to the left, a curious expression crossing his face and spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully. “A-are you, okay?”

“John, hurry up, I’m tired,” another voice rang out; accented and impatient, though tinged with faint amusement and worry. “Who are you talkin’ to?” A pair of shoes came into view. “Is that a Troll? John, get away!”

The blue-eyed man, now identified as John gave a full out pout in response to his companion’s words. “Dave,” he drew the ‘A’ out, long and whiny. “It’s fine, I mean, he hasn’t hurt me yet. He doesn’t seem dangerous and besides, Dave, it’s cold and wet.”

Dave sighed, “Whatever John, just remember; and try not to follow your old man down the same damn path, okay?”

John’s expression darkened and for a moment it seemed like he was going to argue. In the end, he nodded and turned back to Karkat.

Karkat didn’t like the way the blue-eyed human was studying him. It made him feel small, like he was trapped. He didn’t like the other man’s words, they were abrasive and rude. He didn’t understand John and he definitely didn’t like Dave.

John sighed and ran a hand through his hair, Dave was right, in a way. But John didn’t really think that this Troll could harm him. The Troll was small, curled up on himself and shaking. John didn’t trust Trolls, necessarily but he felt, for some reason he could not fully explain, that this one, deserved a chance. “Um, do you need a place to stay? O-or are you, okay with staying here? I mean if that’s what you want, it’s fine. But if you’d like, you could stay with me. Dave does.”

Karkat glanced up at John, eyes guarded and careful. “Why the fuck are you being nice to me? I’m a Troll, isn’t that against the fucking law?” he glared weakly.

John smiled slightly, blinking. “Ah, yeah, probably. But I don’t exactly love the idea of you spending the night out here, I guess. That’s all.” John nodded, apparently satisfied with his answer and shifted the umbrella he held in his hand, keeping it over Karkat.

Karkat, sighed, half wishing that John would somehow manage to offend him in some horrible way so he could justify turning the man down. He shouldn’t be okay with this, throwing his pride away and accepting help. But John was right, it was cold, and Karkat could feel the rain soak through his thin blanket and his threadbare jeans. He realized that he could not feel his feet and he wondered vaguely if they were freezing. He glared again, as if that somehow helped his wounded pride. With a huff, Karkat stood, his feet shook underneath him and the world seemed to spin. He growled lowly, aggravated at something; everything and took a few shaky steps forward trying not to fall down.

John noticed his problem and shifting his umbrella; offered him an arm.

Karkat shook his head, looking over at the blue-eyed man. "No," He frowned slightly, pushing him away weakly. "I don't need your help," he snapped. He didn't bring up the fact that John was already helping him; and luckily, John didn't either.

Karkat walked to the end of the alleyway, meeting John's companion properly for the first time; he was not impressed.

He was taller than John by a few inches, blond hair hung in his face, but was pushed currently behind his ears; ugly black shades hid most of his sneering face from view. It still wasn't enough if you asked Karkat, the man was ugly, from the stupid shades hiding his eyes to the ugly sneer on his face.

As he approached, the man lifted his chin, peering through the lenses, his thin lips quirked up; a half mocking smile. "Hello."

Karkat shrugged. "Hello," he didn't see the need to answer any further than that. He doubted that he would ever get along too well with him.

"Anyway," John shifted from foot to foot, looking at Dave with something close to guarded worry in his tone. "He's coming home with us. Maybe just the night, maybe longer; I don't know but he's welcome to stay as long as he likes, at least this winter."

Dave looked only mildly annoyed, letting out a very deep sigh. "John, but the zoning laws. And what if he is?" Dave emphasized the last word, letting it hang in the air.

It was a secret, Karkat wasn't suppose to know; it didn't matter furthermore if he understood. Whatever Dave had to say, whatever he had meant by his statement, John understood.

His eyes seemed older as he looked at his friend. John took a few steps forward and grasped Dave's left hand. "I know what you think, Dave. I really do, I understand," he leaned closer to Dave, mumbling something in his ear.

When Dave pulled away, his face was relaxed, no longer held in a scowl. There was something in his eyes too; as if he had just opened them for the first time; as if he was just seeing, a shocked and glassy quality to the colored orbs barely visible behind the black. "I understand, John," there was a rough quality to his voice, hard and sad at the same time.

John gave a nod, he looked a little disappointed. With his right hand he motioned Karkat closer. "Come here, I'll show you where you'll be staying."

The walk felt long, it was only a few blocks; but to Karkat, whose head spun. He trailed behind John and Dave; there was a cold silence, forced. He kept his head down, hood over his face. Karkat, he could tell that this was a nice neighborhood now. Not the kind if place he was allowed in.

A bright light spilled onto the pavement, sharp contrast to the gray. The sudden burst of light made Karkat blink rapidly, it hurt. His nose scrunched, eyebrows knitting together. When he stepped into the doorway he was hit by warm air. It sent a tingling sensation through his body; waking up minor frostbite.

Dave pushed past Karkat careful not to touch him while John busied himself with the assortment of coats hanging on the wall.

He wanted to disappear, he didn't know either of them well, and he didn't like Dave, but he recognized that he was the reason it was disrupted. He felt out of place; standing in the front hall, dripping water on the white tile, and he didn't feel very welcome, there was something bitter about the way Dave spoke about Trolls, about him.

"I'll show you upstairs, you can take a shower and change; borrow some of my clothes." John nodded towards Karkat and started up the stairs.

Karkat followed quickly, giving Dave one last glance before the blond human disappeared off into the kitchen.

Dave shook, gripping the handle of the pot tightly, as if it was his only life line. He kept his eyes straight ahead, he chewed on the inside of his cheek, silently raging; silently terrified.

John had brought a Troll here, here to his house. And Dave was terrified. He was afraid of the Troll, the short, scrawny, frostbitten, creature. His kind had killed his Bro and for all Dave knew, this Troll could kill him, or worse, John.

Footsteps sounded, soft and steady behind him and Dave turned; short paring knife in hand.

His attempts were met with light laughter. "It is I, good sir, so lower thine weapon."

Dave scowled, lowered the knife but waving it in John's general direction. "Don't mock me, John you know how I feel about those creatures."

"I know, Dave, I know but I told you, I have a feeling-."

"Yeah, yeah, you have a feeling. Well that's fine, just don't come runnin' to me when your fucking feelings get hurt." He turned away briskly, going back to rough, loud, angry chopping.

John knocked on door. "Um, hello?"

Karkat turned, frowning at the door, wrapping a towel around his waist hurriedly. "Ah, come in."

John pushed the door open. His traitorous eyes wandered, taking in the droplets of clear water that cling to his chest, and the way his hair stuck to his forehead. He shook his head harshly and held out the bundle of clothing in his left arm. "Here, I got you some of my clothing," his eyebrows scrunched. "I didn't catch your name, I'm sorry."

"Karkat," Karkat nodded a little, a quick up and down of the head. "Karkat Vantas."

John smiled setting the clothing down and made a hasty retreat. "It's nice to meet you."

Karkat remained silent, waiting until the door shut. Slowly he slid the towel down, keeping his eyes away from the mirror; he didn't want those reminders. He shook his head. "It's nice to meet you too, John," he mumbled, running his fingers over the soft blue fabric. "It's nice to meet you too."


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John leaves for the day, leaving a sleeping Dave and Karkat alone with the request of 'no killing' after a rocky night. It shouldn't be that hard, right?

Chapter Two

 

The table was silent, the sounds of knifes and forks on china amplified. John sat next to Dave and across the table from Karkat who kept his head down. 

He tried to ignore the glare that was aimed at him, he tried to focus on the food in front of him. He couldn't. Even though he hadn't eaten in a while; how long ago, he had forgotten. Karkat scowled at the mushy carrots as if they had personally offended him. He tapped nervously on the table and fidgeted, playing with a strand of blue thread that hung from the overly long sleeves. 

Dave let a small smile creep onto his face; a quick twitch of his lips. It faded soon after when he caught John's reflection in the water glass across the table. 

He tightened his grip on his knife and relaxed his face. He just had to be patient. 

John tried a few times to start a conversation, but Karkat had retreated inward, staring ahead in silence, in thought and Dave wasn't in the mood to talk to him, not really after what had already happened. 

With that said, dinner was quiet to say the least. Dave did like how the Troll's eyes darted, his fingers tapped and his hands pulled, it seemed that his presence bothered their guest as much as their guest bothered him.

It almost made him smile.

With a clang, Karkat dropped his knife, letting it fall to the polished wooden table. He pushed away, pushing the chair in and stood. When he spoke his voice was soft, "Can you show me to my room?" He kept his head down, silently fuming. He wasn't bothered by John; he was nice enough, but Karkat didn't trust himself around Dave, one more fucking smirk from the blond and the shaded ass wouldn't have any shitty teeth to flash. 

John sighed setting his own knife and fork down. "Sure," He also stood, looking a little sad before disappearing upstairs, the Troll in his wake.

Dave's nose scrunched as he thought and he too stood. The knife hit the table in a dull little thud and the plates clattered as he gathered them up crossing the kitchen.

The pipes made a clanging noise as he turned the fixture. He scrunched his nose, dumping the plates under the spray. The water burned, a hot stinging relief of sorts; grounding him. Dave stood transfixed for a moment it two longer, halfheartedly doing the dishes and watching his hands and wrists color a bright, angry red.

Blinking rapidly, his mind seemed to catch up with his actions and he turned the water off backing away as if afraid. He stood dripping water onto the tile floor; wondering what the Hell was happening to him, he couldn't be that affected by the Troll, right; that would be stupid. He took a deep breath trying to regain his cool. 

When John padded downstairs a short ten minutes later after settling Karkat in the guest bedroom, he found Dave asleep on the couch, the t.v providing mindless chatter.

He looked almost peaceful, mouth curled into a half smirk. His shades had slid down onto his nose. His hands were folded and lying upon his chest and he downright snored. 

John leaned forward inspecting the reddened skin of his friend's hands and then sat down next to him on the couch. The blue eyed man gently pushed the shades back into Dave's face, catching a flash of red as Dave's eyelids fluttered. 

John lifted Dave's feet up, settling himself better on the couch, untying the laces and dropping the shoes to the ground. 

He knew Dave was afraid and he was sorry that he as the one who initiated his fear in their own house, but if he was to honest, he hoped that it would do him some good. 

John sighed, brushing hair away from Dave's face and he leaned back into the cushions, a small grin coming to his face as he did. 

Maybe it wold be good for them both.

Karkat awoke when the sun burst through the open window. Blinking sleepily, Karkat managed to work himself into a nervous frenzy, noting that he was no longer huddled in his alleyway. He sat up scratching at his head and tugging at long blue sleeves of his shirt. With a sigh he realized where he was. John's, that's right. A small smile crept to the corners of his mouth, but he caught himself quickly, grinding his teeth; annoyed. 

Clatters and bangs echoed up, coming from the kitchen and Karkat's stomach growled, as if realizing that he now had access to food. 

He grumbled, pushing the sheets away, and standing up. Karkat took a few steps frowning when he nearly tripped over the long cuffs of the jeans. He swore loudly, stumbling.

Somehow he managed to find his way down the stairs where John was making coffee. 

He stood silent in the doorway for a moment, stretching and then crossed the room, peering over John's shoulder. 

John smiled at him, dragging a hand across his face; attempting to rid it of sleep. In the end, he failed; the crusty bits clinging to his eyelashes. "Anyway," he yawned taking a sip of coffee. "I've got to go. Dave won't be up for a while, I know he isn't exactly nice to you, but. . . Don't kill him, okay? He'll come around. I'll be back about six." 

Karkat nodded, watching John hurry out, slightly amused by the other's antics. Well, it shouldn't be too hard to honor John's request. It was no secret that he didn't like Dave, but killing him seemed a bit much; it would be easy to reframe from that. . . Right?  



End file.
